Myra Schneider’s most recent book, written with John Killick, is Writing Your Self (Continuum 2009). This is a resource book of personal writing and literature and it has a major focus on poetry. The first part of the book includes accounts with quotes (often whole poems) about how many writers have tackled a wide range of personal subjects – childhood, relationships, loss, illness, spirituality, disability, exile for example. Key to the book are firsthand accounts by well and little-known authors and also the authors about how they went about tackling their own material. Part Two offers different techniques and ideas to try out in exploring themselves in creative writing. Importantly, the difference between raw and finished writing and the validity of each, are discussed. Guidance is offered for extending raw material and transforming it into poetry and fiction. The book has had a very positive reception.
 
Myra’s tenth collection of poetry, Circling The Core, was published by Enitharmon Press in September 2008. It includes Goulash which was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for best single poem in 2007, a sequence which won first prize in the long poem section of the Scintilla Competition in 2007 and another sequence which won first prize in the Scintilla Competition in 2004. Her other recent poetry publications are: Insisting on Yellow (Enitharmon 2000), Multiplying The Moon (Enitharmon 2004) and Becoming, a long narrative poem (Second Light Publications) 2006. Her poetry has also been widely published in anthologies and journals such as The Observer, The Independent, New Statesman, London Magazine, Critical Quarterly, The Rialto, The North, Quadrant (Australia) and others.
 
Her earlier publications are listed at the side except for Fistful of Yellow Hope, her first collection which was published in 1984 by Littlewood Press. Two of her collections have been reprinted. link to Publications
 
Myra Schneider was born in North London and grew up in Gourock on the West coast of Scotland, South London and Chichester, West Sussex. She studied English at London University. Myra started writing stories, poems and plays as a child and from the age of nine, was a compulsive writer. She is married to a computer consultant (now retired) and her son works as a freelance computer consultant as I.T. Guy.
 
She has worked as a publicity assistant in an educational publishing firm, a teacher in a comprehensive school and as a private tutor to adolescents and an adult with literacy problems. This last led to an interest in dealing with learning difficulties and 25 years in sessional work with severely disabled adults.
 
For several years she wrote mainly fiction and her first published book was a novel for children called Marigold’s Monster (Heinemann 1976). This was followed by two novels for teenagers: If Only I could Walk and Will The Real Pete Roberts Stand Up. Towards the end of the Seventies she began to write more poetry and, since her first collection of poetry was published in 1984, she has concentrated on writing poetry.
 
Her work, as well as interviews with Myra, has also been broadcast on BBC Radio 4, Radio 2 and the BBC World Service.
 
Writing for Self-Discovery, written with John Killick (Element Books 1998), had an immediate success and was reprinted after six months. It was also published in the USA (Barnes and Noble 1998).
 
Writing My Way Through Cancer (Jessica Kingsley, 2003) is Myra’s fleshed-out journal for the year 2000 and contains poem notes, poems and therapeutic writing ideas. 2000 is the year in which she was diagnosed with breast cancer and she turned to writing to help her come to terms with the experience. The book offers practical support in the form of therapeutic writing suggestions for cancer sufferers, whether they are experienced authors or have never written before. see more…
 
She is co-editor of several anthologies see Second Light books. Myra is consultant to the Second Light Network of women poets. She runs writing workshops and courses and is a tutor for the Poetry School.